The rise of the computer age has resulted in increased access to personalized services online. As the cost of electronics and networking services drop, many services that were previously provided in person are now provided remotely over the Internet. For example, entertainment has increasingly shifted to the online space with companies such as Netflix and Amazon streaming TV shows and movies to members at home. Similarly, electronic mail (e-mail) has reduced the need for letters to physically be delivered. Instead, messages are sent over networked systems almost instantly. Similarly, online social networking sites allow members to build and maintain personal and business relationships in a much more comprehensive and manageable manner.
Consequently, the number of different social networks and the amount which they are used in every facet of daily life has increased significantly. These social networks collect and organize data about their members' social lives and then are able to track the social graphs (e.g., social connections amongst members) for large groups of members. Generally, social networks with more members and more social data provide more benefits to their members than social networks with fewer members and less data. Thus, established social networks typically have more members and social graph data, which can potentially make them more useful than newly created competitor social networks.
One way to grow social networks is to import contacts from a list of contacts that the member has in another context (e.g., phone contacts, email contacts, contacts from another social network). However, any system that maps information submitted by a member with member profile information needs to protect the privacy of the members.
It is within this context that the present disclosure arises.
Like reference numerals refer to corresponding parts throughout the drawings.